Appointments at NOMOS-BANK

Roman Popov has been appointed as deputy head of the department for dealing operations, Olga Yefremova — head of the department for debt markets analysis, Andrey Orlyanskiy — head of the portfolio managers group, the bank’s press service reported.

The global financial crunch enabled the Russian banks to expand its presence in the list of the top global banks according to The Banker by a third. 1,000 largest banks in terms of capital include 35 Russian banks

Reference: Vasily Kudinov “Increased in Crisis”, Vedomosti, No 125, July 9, 2008, p.A1

Despite the crunch, the size of the bank claiming to be the largest in the world is increasing. The Top bank of the ranking should have capital over $1,000 billion, and to joint the Top-1,000 — $250 million.

The first figure is unattainable for Russian banks, but the second figure was showed by 35 Russian banks. In 2006 the ranking included 27 Russian banks. All of them have strengthened their standing. Sberbank increased capital more than two times to $25.3 billion and advanced to the 33d place from the 66th place. VTB ($15.6 billion), which offered an additional share issue, rose to the 60th place from the 116th place. Together with Gazprombank ($7.6 billion, the 112th place) they form the Top-3 largest banks of Eastern Europe.

Vnesheconombank can’t be admitted to the ranking because it is a state corporation. However, the ranking includes CIT Finance ($505 million, 692nd place), Vozrozhdenie ($489 million, 699th place), Soyuz ($364 million, the 817th place), Centrocredit ($306 million, 896th place), Moscow Industrial Bank ($288 million, $925th place), Bank of Khanty-Mansiisk ($277 million, 941st place), Investment Bank Trust ($253 million, 987th place), Materbank ($250 million, 993d place), and Avangard ($250 million, 994th place). CIT Finance, Soyuz, Bank of Khanty-Mansiisk and Trust were ranked based on the international statements for 2006, and Avangard — based on the Russian statements.

The Top-100 banks increased most of all include 9 Russian banks, five of them feature in the Top-20.

The strengthening of Russian banks is accounted for mostly by the fact, that they wasn’t affect by the financial factor, Vasily Fedorov, director of the financial markets department of NOMOS-Bank, maintains. Troubles with foreign loans were recouped by domestic sources from oil and gas export, and Russian banks have few investments in foreign instruments which could have cause losses. Domestic sources remain, and even with rapidly mounting complications on the foreign debt market, Russian banks will expand and increase their presence on the next ranking of The Banker, Vasily Fedorov is convinced.

Russian banks increased their presence on the ranking due to high business growth rates — 35—40% annually. Banks in Eastern Europe and Western Europe expand at much lower rates, Arkady Kolodkin, chairman of the board of the National Reserve Bank, states. In next years we will hardly manage to include new banks to the ranking, because all the large banks have been already admitted to it.